Chemicals React
by Stephane Richer
Summary: The tide's pulling me in deeper, making it harder to breathe


Chemicals React

Disclaimer: I don't own Aly & AJ's recording of "Chemicals React" or Fujimaki Tadatoshi's _Kuroko no Basuke_

* * *

Sometimes, Kise sends Midorima a text, and sometimes he gets an answer. More often than not, the answer is "DIE!" but sometimes it's an actual response to his question. Sometimes the response will be cryptic or unrelated (many times, it'll contain some reference to his horoscope, which in its own little Midorima-like way is caring and kind and totally relevant). Sometimes, though, he doesn't get any response.

The first time it happens is in middle school. Kise grows quite worried when he receives no reply one evening, and waits outside of Midorima's classroom for him the next morning, clinging to him upon his arrival. He repeatedly asks why Midorima didn't answer his text message and whines about how he was so worried, until Midorima throws him across the room.

"I didn't feel like it, idiot," Midorima says as Kise picks himself up. "Go back to your own classroom."

He still worries. Some part of him irrationally thinks, "He's died in a fire or has been kidnapped or got hit by a bus" and the thoughts get more and more far-fetched. But despite Kise's despondence, Midorima is always all right the next time Kise sees him.

Sometimes, the response isn't in the form of a text message. Kise doesn't _mind_ waiting per se (it's just that he gets so worried), especially when in return he gets something much more meaningful and memorable than a silly text message.

Once, he asks what Midorima's favourite candy is, and the next day Midorima brings in several boxes of lemon-flavoured lollipops. Everyone assumes they're his lucky item (although that day it's actually a bottle of aspirin) but after practice Midorima empties one box over Kise's head and places the rest next to him. It's not fun to pick up, but he has Murasakibara help and lets him eat most of what he picks up. The candies are quite delicious, an observation that he texts to Midorima that evening. Of course, he doesn't get an immediate response to that, either.

Another time, he asks Midorima if he wants to hang out, but his phone stays silent for the next thirty minutes. He can't be practicing, and this is an odd time to eat, so Kise wonders if Midorima's just ignoring him as usual, or if something terrible has happened. The answer turns out to be neither, as the doorbell rings and Kise finds a certain green-haired shooting guard is standing outside.

Midorima doesn't like to pass to him, either, he's noticed. Well, in general, Midorima doesn't pass very often, and why should he? He can shoot the ball from anywhere on the court, so being blocked or in a bad position just doesn't happen to him. But he's passed the ball to Akashi a couple of times, and in practice he passes to everyone else, even Kuroko. But it's never, ever to Kise.

He brings this up when he's talking to Momoi one day, and she just shrugs and smiles that I-know-something-you-don't smile. Of course, she's noticed everything that's going on, and of course she's noticed more than he has but she won't tell. "Why don't you figure it out?" she says with a shrug and then runs off to talk to Aomine.

Midorima gets better at trusting his teammates in high school, something that makes Kise feel a little bit more betrayed. Kise brings up Midorima when talking with Takao, and Takao gets a funny look on his face too and starts to laugh and says, "It figures."

What figures?

Is Kise really out of the loop?

Apparently he is, because he invites Midorima to come with him to one of Kasamatsu's parties and almost as soon as they walk through the door they're thrown into a closet and the door slams shut behind them and it all kind of clicks in Kise's head.

This is the stuff of shoujo manga, where the heroine is too nervous to talk to her really dense crush about her feelings and can't get them across even though everyone else can see the signs, how he's always treated her specially even if he himself can't tell, and then her friends conspire and get her into an awkwardly romantic situation involving a tight space and the guy she's been crushing on and holy shit Kise is the dense object of Midorima's very clear (in the indirect Midorima way) affections. Well, then, there's only one appropriate thing to do and that's to kiss Midorima full-on.

It's awkward, because it's dark in the closet and they're both so tall they have to crouch, but Kise makes it work, reaching out to find Midorima's face and sort of shoving it on his. Midorima tastes nice, like mint and caramel, and he's responding very enthusiastically for once.

Midorima tries to shove him against the closet wall but they end up crashing into a stack of boxes and a vacuum cleaner and fall to the floor, but even with the awkward positioning they keep reaching for one another.

"I'm sorry I've been so dense, Midorimacchi," Kise says as he starts unbuttoning the other's shirt.

"Shut up and kiss me," Midorima says.

Kise can't refuse an order like that, because the crack of half-light coming from under the door illuminates him in an eerie way and it's kind of intoxicating, the way his hair falls on his face, the shadow cast by his eyelashes, the pout of his lips, the friction and heat between them so close together in the small space.

He knows Midorima would never come out and confess because that's just who he is, but he knows he never would have realized his own feeling on his own. This is the reason he texts Midorima so often, why he spent so much time in middle school basketball games looking at Midorima instead of the rest of the game, why he notes every pass Midorima sends and receives. This is why Midorima can't pass to him, why he replies so weirdly to Kise's text messages.

"Oh!" says Kise and he breaks the kiss again and stares into space and Midorima sighs.

"Did you even hear what I just said?" Midorima barks, or tries to, because he can't hide his affection now. Even in the dim light, Kise can tell Midorima's blushing. Hell, he could tell without seeing. So he leans back in and stuffs his hand up Midorima's shirt and starts biting his lips because he's been waiting forever for this without even knowing it.

"Go die," Midorima mumbles into the kiss, which is his way of saying, "I really like you."


End file.
